twilight and an angel?
by nannas-onepiece-adventure
Summary: A girl from our world dies and becomes Bella swan's little sister. She is also not a fan of Edward. rated M to be safe
1. Chapter 1 prologue

Ch1

"Where am I?"

"Why am I here?"

"And WHAT _ARE_ YOU!?"

I stared at the angel…thing.

It gave me an un-amused frown.

"My name is Gabriel. I am your guardian angel. This is the land between life and death. You're here because you died." He informed me. "I also don't like being refer to as an 'It'." He said, still frowning.

The angel…Gabriel had long golden hair that was pulled back in a high ponytail. His eyes were pale blue, and of course, he had wings, big White wings. He was also pale.

What the thing…angel…Gabriel said was not very hard to believe since I _was_ floating in the sky. There were plenty of clouds making it look like a fairytale. I could not see the top or bottom. _Hmmm…that would be a long fall_

*Ahem. Gabriel coughed trying to get my attention.

"Normally you would have gone to heaven or hell, but your death was, unnecessary, selfless, regretless, and most of all noble."

"Huh?! What do you mean by…all of that? Then again how did I die?" _Why can't I remember._

*sigh "_he_ said this might happen" he muttered. "I'll make your mind get a flashback" before I could protest, I mean really, who wants to see their own death, he touched his pointer finger at my forehead.

FLASHBACK

_Listening to Yiruma on her mp3 player, a 17-year-old Dayanne walked down the street. She notices a small boy playing whit his ball. She smiled softly at him. How cute, maybe after she got a steady job she would adopt a child._

_She crossed the street taking of her earphones_(AN;NEVER cross the street when listening to music)_; she was going to call her 'twilight addicted' best friend. She would have continued had she not heard "WHATCH OUT!" she whirled around at the shout wondering what was wrong, when she saw something that made her blood run cold. The little boy had bounced his ball into the street. That's not what scared her though, it was the fact that he ran after it, putting himself in front of a speeding truck._

_Not thinking her body moved on its own. There would not be enough time to get him out of the way so she did the next best thing._

_She used her body as a shield._

_Holding the boy tightly against her chest the truck hit her from behind, destroying her entire back. The last thing she remembered was the boy squirming in her arms._

_End of flashback._

"Ouch. Do you have any idea how it feels like to have your entire body mangled up by an oversize truck." Gabriel just shrugged his shoulders. "I don't either. My body must have been paralyzed because I felt no pain." She added blankly. Gabriel just rolled his eyes at her. "On a serious note, this kind of thing only happens in movies."

"Anyways you are being given a second chance at life." He paused, waiting for a reaction. When I gave none his eyes twitched. "Right…" but before he could continue I cut him off, "What do you mean by regretless? I definitely left a whole bunch of stuff unresolved back home."

"When you felt the boy move in your arms after the accident, did you regret saving his life?" not waiting for an answer he continued.

"Have fun and don't do anything stupid" He then disappeared.

I would have been content to stay floating in the sky, it was rather peaceful there. But noooo, the great spirits found it funny to drop me. I was literary freefalling. I found that as much as I wanted to scream something was keeping my mouth shut.

Suddenly everything went black.

"Look at her" a soft masculine voice came from above me.

"Wow…she's beautiful" this voice was feminine and it came from her right. "She looks just like me honey" he's excited.

So…the little things make him happy, that's nice.

"She DOES look like you Charlie" Charlie…that is a nice name.

Hmmm…what is that warm thing on my back? It feels like a hand. That's odd, hands aren't supposed to be this big.

I slowly opened my eyes to look at the people talking about me.

I was met with warm chocolate brown eyes. I took notice of the rest of the man, _Charlie_. He had curly brown hair. and stood at about 6 feet. _He looks nice, I like him._

"My beautiful Arabella" I turned my head, with great difficulty. She had long wavy brown hair and blue eyes.

_Arabella…is that my name?_

The man spoke this time "Arabella Niccole Swan"

Right, Arabella Niccole Swa-SWAN! But if your name is Charlie Swan then does that mean I am in twilight. Nah, that is not possible.

Turns out that, I was in fact in the world of twilight. Actually, I am Bella Swans little sister by 1 year.

Bella is nice to me. She likes to play with me, and even shares her toys with me. To a toddler thats actually a big deal. I like her.

Renee wanted Charlie to leave Forks with her and start over somewhere sunnier, but Charlie could not do that. A few months after I was born, Renée decided she could not live in Forks anymore. She left with Bella and me, leaving Charlie devastated. Charlie wanted to follow her, but he could not leave his parents. They were sick. He didn't contest the divorce or the child support. All he asked for was time with us girls. He did not stop loving Renée. 4 years after my birth Charlie's parents died.

We visited Charlie in the summer for two weeks until Bella threw a fit, she did not want to come back to forks. I kept coming until Bella begged me to stay because she got lonely without me.

Nothing much really happened for the next couple of years. Renee got married to Phil, which I took an instant dislike to. He wasn't bad, he just, wasn't…Charlie.

I am not a big twilight fan nor am I a big fan of Edward. The only reason I watched all the movies was because of my twilight-addicted friend.

**ARABELLA: Italian name meaning "answered prayer."**


	2. Chapter 2

Ch2

Finally came the day that I would be going back to forks. Bella is 17 and I am 16. Bella was coming with me because I gave her puppy dog eyes. She was only coming because of her me; otherwise, she would have spent the rest of her life in phoenix, or Jacksonville.

"Ara** (Her nickname, like Bella for Isabella)**, you don't have to do this!" Repeated Renee, for the thousandth time, giving me one last hug as Phil finally arrived in his car to take Bella and me to Phoenix Airport. Renee did not want us to go, but I threw a miniature tantrum, and Renee had been so shocked at my out of character actions she had to accept my decision.

"No, I do. I want to," I smiled, hugging her back. It is more like I have to, I thought in annoyance. As much as I love forks I don't want to accompany Bella trough the many painful events that happen in the twilight universe. But noooo…Gabriel, the stupid angel man, will not let me get out of this. Oh did I mention that he talks to me in my dreams and sometimes in my mind, well now I did.

"Well, tell your father I said hey." She gave me another hug before turning over to her oldest daughter. I did not pay them any attention, instead calling over my dog. A golden retriever I found on my when I was 12. He was a puppy at the time, barely 4 month old. I had instantly fallen in love with him I begged mom to let me keep him and she let me on the condition that I would be his soul caretaker, I also had to teach him obedience. That night was actually the first time Gabriel visited me in my dreams. He informed me that he was the dog (I rolled on the floor laughing my head off at this). He would assist me on my little adventure. He still won't tell me why I am even in this story for.

"Gabriel, Bring your leach, were leaving." He bounded over to me, using his mouth to give me his leach. Thankfully Gabe obeyed my commands without any trouble. I got myself into the car letting Gabe take the window seat. _Hey how come you act so much like a dog even when you don't have to? _I asked Gabe through our mental connection.

Gabe turned to me and all but growled, _the longer I am a dog the more I act as a dog. In fact just last night I was napping and the next thing I know I liking myself._

It took me a moment to understand what he said but when I did I blushed. _Gabriel that is way to much info._

At the airport Renee gave us another hug. Bella handled our tickets. Gabriel was put to sleep so he could ride on the dog compartment.

I slept through the 4-hour flight to Seattle. We took a small plane up to Port Angeles; I spent my time watching a movie. They were playing 'tremors' **(Good movie, check it out.) **Bella, on the other hand, spent her time dreading the hour-long car ride they would have to partake with Charlie. He'd already gotten us registered for high school and got Bella her truck. Bella gets a car and not me because she is the oldest.

When we landed in Port Angeles, it was raining. No surprise there. I could practically feel the distaste rolling of off Bella; _I just hope you can hide it well in front of Charlie, Bells._

Charlie was waiting for us with the cruiser. This we expected, after all, Charlie is Police Chief Swan to the good people of Forks.

Charlie gave Bella an awkward, one-armed hug when she stumbled her way off the plane. "Its good to see you, Bells," he said, smiling as he automatically caught and steadied her. I tried to work with Bella on her balance until she twisted _MY _ankle and I labeled her as a lost cause."You haven't changed much. How's Renee?"

"Mom's fine. It's good to see you, too, Dad." I had prohibited her from calling him Charlie to his face.

"Hey there Ara" Charlie gave me a hug. Things were never awkward between the two of us. "It's good to see you again, baby girl."

"Good to see you too daddy." After getting Gabriel, back from the dog compartment. We made our way to the cruiser.

We had only a few bags. Most of our Arizona clothes were too permeable for Washington. Mom, Bella and I had pooled our resources to supplement our winter wardrobe, but it was still scanty. It all fit easily into the trunk of the cruiser.

"I found a good car for you, really cheap," he announced to Bella when we were all strapped in. Bella sat in the front with dad. Gabriel and I sat in the back. "What kind of car"

Me and Gabe got comfortable in the back not wanting to hear this conversation. Within seconds I fell sleep.

Charlie woke me up, along with a disgruntled Gabriel; he sure does love his nap time, when we reached the towns limits. We finally reached the house. Charlie still lived in the 3-bedroom house that he had bought with Renee.

While Bella checked out her truck, Charlie dropped of my bags in my old room. I took the West room that faced over the front yard. It had wooden flooring, light blue walls, a peaked ceiling, and yellowed lace curtains around the window. The only changes Charlie had ever made were switching the crib for a bed and adding a desk as I grew. The desk held a phone line for the modem stapled along the floor to the nearest phone jack. This was a stipulation from Renee, so that we could stay in touch easily. Although, I never called during the summer break. That time was always reserved for Charlie. The rocking chair from my baby days was still in the corner. Charlie then showed me were the bathroom was. Thank god there were two bathrooms, one for charlie and one for Bella and I. Charlie then left me to settle into my room. Unpacking was easy barely took me 5 minutes.

After taking a nice long, mush to Bella's annoyance, shower I settled on my bed. Gabriel went to sleep under the bed. I was lulled to sleep by the constant whooshing of the rain and wind across the roof.

DREAM TALK WITH GABRIEL

_"Sooooooo…are you going to tell me what my role is in the story" I asked Gabriel for what seemed to be the thousands time._

_"Yes"_

_Did I just hear him right? Did he say yes?_

_Finally after years of asking his going to tell me_

_"You will be taking Bella's place and be the main character of the story." He was smirking now. "Also you are Edward Cullen's soulmate."_

_…_

_…_

_…_

_"WHAAAAAAATT!"_

_END OF DREAM_


	3. Chapter 3

_CH3_

_THE NEXT MORNING_

I woke up feeling very annoyed. I am Edward Cullen's **soulmate.** Do not get me wrong I do not hate him, his just not my type.

I caught sight of Gabe coming from under my bed. I tried to kick him but he evaded me and bit my foot. He didn't break the skin but it was still painful.

_No one can be forced to love another, so for now Ill go with it and see were this takes me. _I thought grimly of all the hell Bella had to go through to get her happy ending. I don't know if ill be able to handle having an emo like boyfriend let alone Husband. Poor me.

After using the bathroom and getting ready for school I went downstairs with Gabe at my heels.

I gave Gabriel dog food that Charlie had bought and water, all the while cursing him out in my mind, then I sat down for breakfast. Breakfast with Charlie was a quiet event. He wished us good luck at school. We thanked him, knowing his hope was wasted on us. Good luck tended to avoid Bella…and me, by association. Charlie left first, off to the police station. After he left, I sat at the old square wooden table in one of the four un-matching chairs, while Bella studied the kitchen.

Bella didn't want to be too early to school, but we couldn't stay in the house anymore. We donned our jackets and headed out into the rain.

It was just drizzling, still not enough to soak us through immediately. While Bella locked up, I got myself into the truck. Inside the truck was warm. The seats smelled faintly of tobacco, gasoline, and peppermint. The engine started quickly, to our relief, but loudly, roaring to life and then idling at top volume. Well, at least the antique radio worked, a plus that even I had not expected.

Bella parked in front of the first building, which had a small sign over the door reading front office. No one else was parked there, so it must have been off limits, but Bella wanted to get directions inside instead of circling around in the rain like a bunch of idiots. We, Bella being rather unwilling, stepped out of the truck and walked down a little path lined with dark hedges. Bella took a deep breath before opening the door. Inside, it was warmer than I'd thought. The office was small, with a counter along the middle. There were three desks behind the counter, one of which was manned by a red-haired woman.

The red-haired woman spoke up. "Can I help you?"

"I'm Isabella Swan, and this is Arabella swan, my sister"

"Of course," she said excitedly. She dug through her desk until she found the papers she was looking for. "I have your schedule right here, and a map of the school." She brought several sheets to the counter to show us. "You two have the same classes." I had died at seventeen, so I had been in high school at the time of my death. My grades had been fairly good in my past life, so I skipped a grade to be at the same place as Bella.

She went through our classes for us, highlighting the best route to each on the map. She also gave us each a slip to have each of the teacher's sing, which we were to bring back at the end of the day. She smiled at us and hoped, like Charlie, that we would like it here in Forks.

We went back out to the truck; other students were starting to arrive. Bella drove us around the school, following the line of traffic. "I was worried that the truck would be the only old car here, but the nicest car is a shiny silver Volvo." She said excitedly. Edward!

Bella cut the engine as soon as we were parked, so that the thunderous volume wouldn't draw attention to us, 'cough-her-cough'. She looked over the map, trying to memorize it; hoping she wouldn't have to walk around with it stuck in front of her nose all day. After waiting for Bella to get her nerves together, we exited the truck.

Once we got around the cafeteria, building three was easy to spot. A large black "3" was painted on a white square on the East corner.

The classroom was small. The students in here were staring at the two new girls. Bella and I hung our coat on a row of hooks. We then took our slips up to the teacher, a man named Mr. Mason.

He sent us to some empty desk at the back without introducing us to the class. It was harder for our new classmates to stare at us in the back, but somehow, they managed. I kept my eyes close as I listened to Bella read the list of books the teacher had given us. It was fairly basic: Bronte, Shakespeare, Chaucer, and Faulkner. I'd already read everything in my past life and Bella made me read them with her. That was comforting… and boring. It's a good thing I brought my folder of old essays. I spent my time either daydreaming or ignoring Gabe who was scolding me for not paying attention. Apparently distance matters very little to the angel turned dog.

When the bell rang, a nasal buzzing sound, a gangly boy with skin problems and hair black as an oil slick leaned across the aisle to talk to us.

"You're Isabella and Arabella Swan, aren't you?" He looked like the overly helpful, chess club type. Bet this guy is Eric.

"Just Bella and Ara," I corrected. Everyone within a three-seat radius turned to look at me.

"Where's your next classes?" he asked.

"Government, with Jefferson, in building six." I said as Bella started to look in her bag. "I'm headed toward building four, I could show you the way…" Definitely over-helpful.

"I'm Eric," he added.

I smiled smugly. _I was right._

We got our jackets and headed out into the rain, which had picked up. I noticed several people behind us were walking close enough to eavesdrop. They moved away at my glare.

"So, this is a lot different than Phoenix, huh?" he asked.

"Very." Bella answered while I glared at anyone eavesdropping.

"It doesn't rain much there, does it?"

"Three or four times a year."

"Wow, what must that be like?" he wondered.

"Sunny," I told him, seeing no one else attempting to eavesdrop. "And dry."

"Neither of you look very tan."

"Our mother is part albino." Bella said with a hint of sarcasm.

I chuckled as Eric studied our faces. Clouds and sense of humor don't mix. We walked back around the cafeteria, to the South buildings by the gym. Eric walked us right to the door, though it was _clearly_ marked.

"Well, good luck you two," he said as I opened the door.

"Maybe we'll have some other classes together." He sounded hopeful.

We smiled at him and went inside.

The rest of the morning passed in about the same fashion. My Trigonometry teacher, Mr. Varner, who I would have hated anyway just because of the subject he taught, was the only one who made us stand in front of the class and introduce ourselves. After introducing myself I went to my seat and gave Bella an encouraging smile. Bella stammered, blushed, and tripped over her own boots on the way to her seat. I chuckled when it happened…and so did the rest of the class. I stood up so abruptly that it startled the kids.

"Hey, how _dare_ you laugh at my sister." The teacher tried to quiet me down, but I ignored him. "If any of you makes fun of MY sister again then Ill make you eat dirt" NO ONE EVER makes fun of Bella but me, and thats only because she is my sister. Siblings are the only ones allowed to tease one another _no one_ else.

I only sat back down when Mr. Varner threatened me with expulsion, and even then I kept glaring at them, none dared to look at me. Bella sat next to me looking very relieved. _Why isn't she mad at me for embarrassing her like that…oh yeah._ The last time someone had made fun of Bella, I had given the boy a black eye and a broken jaw. _She must be happy I didn't hurt anyone._

After two more classes, I started to recognize several of the faces in each class. Every one must have heard about my threat since they were trying to be extra nice. Although most did keep their distance, there was always someone braver than the others who would introduce themselves and ask us questions about how we were liking Forks. Since I ignored them for the most part, Bella was the one that did all the speaking. At least we never needed the map. One girl sat next to Bella in both Trig and Spanish, and she walked with us to the cafeteria for lunch. She was about Bella's height at five feet four inches, two whole inches taller than me, with wildly curly dark hair. She had introduced herself as Jessica, I smiled and nodded as she prattled about teachers and classes with Bella.

We sat at the end of a full table with several of Jessica's friends, who she introduced to us. I managed to forget all their names as soon as she spoke them,_ New record_. They seemed impressed by her bravery in speaking to the new girls. The boy from English, Eric, waved at us from across the room. It was there, sitting in the lunchroom, trying to ignore the conversation Bella was having with seven curious strangers, that I first saw them.

They were sitting in the corner of the cafeteria, as far away from where I sat as possible in the long room. There were five of them. They weren't talking, and they weren't eating, though they each had a tray of untouched food in front of them. They weren't gawking like most of the other students. But it was none of these things that caught, and held, my attention. They were all pale and had very dark eyes.

_The Cullen's. _

Of the three boys, one was big - muscled like a serious weight lifter, with dark, curly hair. _Emmet Cullen_

Another was taller,leaner, but still muscular, and honey blond. _Jasper Hale_

The girls were opposites. The tall one was statuesque. She had a beautiful figure, the kind you saw on the cover of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, the kind that made every girl around her take a hit on her self-esteem just by being in the same room. Her hair was golden, gently waving to the middle of her back. _Rosalie Hale_

The short girl was pixie like, thin in the extreme, with small features. Her hair was a deep black, cropped short and pointing in every direction. _Alice Cullen_

The last was lanky, less bulky, with untidy, bronze-colored hair. He was more boyish than the others. _Edward Cullen_

Robert Pattison doesn't compare. This Edward is pretty hot. _I think I can overlook his glum and doom personality. _

They were all looking away - away from each other, away from the other students, away from anything in particular. As I watched, Alice rose with her tray - food completely untouched - and walked away with a quick, graceful lope that belonged on a runway. I watched, amazed at her lithe dancer's step, till she dumped her tray and glided through the back door, _I wish I could step that lightly, it would help my form exponentially._

"Who are they?" Bella asked Jessica, bringing me out of my thoughts.

As Jessica looked up to see who she meant — I made sure to look like I was paying attention — Edward glanced up.

He looked at Jessica for just a fraction of a second, then at Bella, and then his dark eyes flickered to mine.

He looked away quickly, I dropped my gaze at once. I blushed lightly thinking about how intense his eyes had been.

Jessica giggled in embarrassment, looking at the table like I did. Bella couldn't even lift her head from embarrassment.

"That's Edward and Emmett Cullen, and Rosalie and Jasper Hale. The one who left was Alice Cullen; they all live together with Dr. Cullen and his wife." She said this under her breath. I glanced sideways at Edward who was looking at his tray now, picking a bagel to pieces with long, pale fingers. His mouth was moving very quickly, his perfect lips barely opening. The other three still looked away, and yet I knew he was speaking quietly to them.

"They are... very nice-looking." Bella muttered quietly.

I scoffed lightly. "They are the most beautiful creatures I've ever seen." I whispered into Bella's ear making her blush. I noticed the Cullen's trying hiding their smiles.

"Yes!" Jessica agreed with another giggle. "They're all together though - Emmett and Rosalie, and Jasper and Alice, I mean. And they live together." Her voice held all the shock and condemnation of the small town, I thought critically, my smile disappearing. My dislike for Jessica slowly started to grow. "Which ones are the Cullen's?" Bella asked. "They don't look related..."

"Oh, they're not. Dr. Cullen is really young, in his twenties or early thirties. They're all

adopted. The Hales are brother and sister, twins - the blondes - and they're foster children."

"They look a little old for foster children." Bella said looking at them curiously.

"They are now, Jasper and Rosalie are both eighteen, but they've been with Mrs. Cullen since they were eight. She's their aunt or something like that."

"That's really kind of nice - for them to take care of all those kids like that, when they're so young and everything."

"I guess so," Jessica admitted reluctantly, that with the looks of jealousy she was throwing at the Cullen kids, made me look at her in disgust. "I think that Mrs. Cullen can't have any kids, though," she added, as if that lessened their kindness. "And thats why they adopted"

SNAP

"You know Jessica," I said coldly glaring at said girl."There are very _few _things that make me mad." The tone of my voice made Jessica become pale. "One is people making fun of my family. Number two are bullies. And three are people who mock others kindness. Tell me Jessica, is Mrs. Cullen a bad mom because she isn't their biological mom. Or because you're not the adopted kid of a rich family. Those kids are lucky to have such wonderful parents."

I felt my mood change inexplicably, from cold anger to feeling calm and docile. "I think…" I smiled softly. "Mrs Cullen is a wonderful mom."

Jessica too looked calm and relax. I didn't bother to listen to her blabber, too busy trying to figure out why I wasn't feeling mad anymore.

I never did notice the soft smiles on the Cullen kids faces or that they were directed at me.

Bella managed to engage Jessica into another conversation.

"Have they always lived in Forks?" She asked, also sounding calm and relaxed.

"No," Jessica's voice sounded normal, as if our _confrontation _never happened. "They just moved down two years ago from somewhere in Alaska."

As I examined them, Edward, looked up and met my gaze, this time with curiosity in his expression. I stared back at him. We stared at each other for a moment before I smirked and looked away.

Bella seeing who I was looking at, asked "Which one is the boy with the reddish brown hair?" I peeked at him from the corner of my eye, and he was still staring at me, but this time he had a slightly frustrated expression. I looked down again, smiling.

"That's Edward. He's gorgeous, of course, but don't waste your time. He doesn't date. Apparently none of the girls here are good-looking enough for him." She sniffed, a clear case of sour grapes.

"Bet I can make him fall for me within a month." I whispered to Bella.

I bit my lip to hide my smile when she tried to keep her own smile hidden. Then I glanced at him again. His face was turned away, but I thought his cheek appeared lifted, as if he were smiling, too.

After a few more minutes, the four of them left the table together. They all were noticeably graceful - even Emmet. It was torture to watch. How I which I could walk like that.

I sat at the table with Bella and her new friends longer than I would have if it'd been just Bella and I. I was anxious about biology. Angela, one of our new acquaintances, had Biology II with us the next hour. We walked to class together in silence. She was as shy as Bella.

When we entered the classroom, Angela went to sit at a black-topped lab table. She didn't have a neighbor. In fact, the only other open seat was next to the center aisle, at the table that Edward Cullen was sitting in. As I followed Bella down the aisle to introduce ourselves to the teacher and get the slips signed, I was watching him surreptitiously. Just as I passed, he suddenly went rigid in his seat. He stared at me again, meeting my eyes with the strangest expression on his face - it was hostile, furious. I looked away quickly, not feeling the confidence as I usually felt.

Mr. Banner signed our slips and handed us a book each with no nonsense about introductions. Of course, he had to send Bella to sit with Angela and me with Edward. I kept my eyes down as I went to sit by him, terrified by the antagonistic stare he'd given me. I didn't look up as I set my book on the table and took my seat, but I saw his posture change from the corner of my eye. He was leaning away from me, sitting on the extreme edge of his chair and averting his face like he smelled something bad. I noticed that his eyes were black - coal black.

*Sigh* How could I have not thought of this. Of course I would be his singer.

I looked away and tried to pay attention to the teacher.

Unfortunately the lecture was on cellular anatomy, something that was obnoxiously boring. I doodled on my notebook instead, always looking down.

I couldn't stop myself from peeking occasionally at the boy next to me. During the whole class, he never relaxed his stiff position on the edge of his chair, sitting as far from me as possible. I could see his hand on his left leg was clenched into a fist, tendons standing out under his pale skin. This, too, he never relaxed. He had the long sleeves of his white shirt pushed up to his elbows, and his forearm was surprisingly hard and muscular beneath his light skin. He wasn't nearly as slight as he'd looked next to his burly brother.

The class seemed to drag on longer than the others. Was it because the day was finally coming to a close, or because I was waiting for his tight fist to loosen?

I peeked up at him one more time, and regretted it. He was glaring down at me again, his black eyes full of hatred and…pain. I realized then that the poor guy was suffering worst than I had thought. With that in mind I zipped up my jacket and made sure my hair covered my neck. When I peeked at him once more I saw his eyes were still coal black but he'd relax a bit. At that moment, the bell rang loudly, making me jump, and Edward Cullen was out of his seat. Fluidly he rose - he was much taller than I'd thought - his back to me, and he was out the door before anyone else was out of their seat.

I sat frozen in my seat, staring blankly after him. I sighted and began gathering up my things slowly,

"Aren't you Arabella Swan?" a male voice asked. I looked up to see a cute, baby-faced boy, his pale blond hair carefully gelled into orderly spikes, smiling at me in a friendly way. Bella was standing next to him, frowning in concern.

"Ara," I corrected him, while shaking my head subtly at Bella.

"I'm Mike."

"Hi, Mike."

"Do you need any help finding your next class? Im taking Bella to her gym class" He said proudly.

"I'm headed to the gym too. I think I can find it."

"That's my next class too." He seemed thrilled, though it wasn't that big of a coincidence in a school this small.

We walked to class together; he was a chatterer - he supplied most of the conversation, which made it harder for me to ignore him, but I managed. It turned out he was in my English class also, although I never noticed him.

As we were entering the gym, he asked, "So, did you stab Edward Cullen with a pencil or what? I've never seen him act like that."

I cringed. _So he noticed. _I decided to play dumb.

"Was that the boy I sat next to in Biology?" I asked artlessly. Bella looked at me weirdly.

"Yes," he said. "He looked like he was in pain or something."

"I don't know," I responded. "I never spoke to him."

"He's a weird guy." Mike lingered by me instead of heading to the dressing room. "If I were lucky enough to sit by you, I would have talked to you."

I gave him a false smile before following Bella into girls' locker room. Thankfully Bella wasn't going to ask about Edward now, sadly she will do that at home.

The Gym teacher, Coach Clapp, found us both a uniform but didn't make us dress down for today's class. Back in phoenix, only two years of RE were required. Here, PE was mandatory all four years. We watched four volleyball games running simultaneously. Remembering how many injuries I had sustained - Mostly from Bella - playing volleyball. I felt faintly nauseated and Bella wasn't doing any better. The final bell rang at last. We made our way to the office to return my paperwork. The rain had drifted away, but the wind was strong, and colder. I wrapped my arms around myself.

When I walked into the warm office, I froze in place, making Bella walk into me.

Edward Cullen stood at the desk in front of me. I'd recognized that tousled bronze hair anywhere. He didn't appear to notice the sound of our entrance. Bella and I stood pressed against the back wall, waiting for the receptionist to be free. Bella seeing the blank look on my face stayed quiet.

Edward was arguing with the receptionist in a low, attractive voice. I quickly picked up the gist of the

argument. He was trying to trade from sixth-hour Biology to another time - any other time.

I couldn't help but think_ Was he really in that much pain._

The door opened again, and the cold wind suddenly gusted through the room, rustling the papers on the desk, swirling my hair around my face. The girl who came in merely stepped to the desk, placed a note in the wire basket, and walked out again. But Edward's back stiffened, and he turned slowly to glare at me - his face was absurdly handsome - with piercing, hate-filled eyes. For an instant, I felt a thrill of genuine fear, raising the hair on my arms. The only thing keeping me from running away at that instant was the knowledge that I would live.

The look only lasted a second, but it chilled me more than the freezing wind. He turned back to the receptionist.

"Never mind, then," he said hastily in a voice like velvet. "I can see that it's impossible. Thank you so much for your help." And he turned on his heel without another look at me, and disappeared out the door. I went, as calmly as could, up to the desk, my face white as a vampires, and handed her the signed slip.

"How did your first day go, dear?" The receptionist asked maternally while taking Bella's slip.

"Better than I expected" I managed to sound non-chalant.

When we got to the truck, it was almost the last car in the lot. We sat quietly inside for a while, Me waiting for Bella's questions and Bella deciding which question to ask first.

"Sooo." Bella finally broke the silence. "You want to explain what happened in there."

I sighted. "He must have been having a bad day." At her unbelieving look I added. "Bella if I knew what happened don't you think I'd tell you."

She stared at me for a moment, Before turning on the truck and heading home.


	4. Chapter 4

CH 4

The next day was better…and boring…and worst. It was better because I knew what to expect of my day and thats what made it boring. Mike came to sit by me in English, and walked us to our next class, with Chess Club Eric glaring at him all the while; that was nattering. People didn't look at us quite as much as they had yesterday. It was worse because Mr. Varner called on me in Trig when my hand wasn't raised, although I did get the answer right. It was miserable because Bella had to play volleyball, and the one time she didn't cringe out of the way of the ball, she hit _me_ in the head with it.

When I walked into the cafeteria with Bella and Jessica, my eyes swept the cafeteria trying to locate Edward — Although I already knew he would be in Alaska by now - I saw that his four siblings were sitting together at the same table, and he was not with them.

Mike intercepted us and steered us to his table. Jessica seemed elated by the attention, and her friends quickly joined us. After lunch we walked to Biology. Mike, who was taking on the qualities of a golden retriever, walked faithfully by our side to class. I went to my seat. Mike followed Bella's to her's, talking about an upcoming trip to the beach. _Hm I can take Gabe to the beach, Im sure he would appreciated. _

He lingered by my sister's desk till the bell rang, he went to sit by a girl with braces and a bad perm. It looked like I was going to have to do something about Mike, and it wouldn't be easy. In a town like this, where everyone lived on top of everyone else, action was essential. I had never had to protect Bella from overly friendly boys before. _This should be fun._

As I waited for class to begin, I started to feel a bit sad that Edward was absent. It was ridiculous, how can I feel longing, no matter how small, for someone who I haven't even spoken to. It was ridiculous. And yet I couldn't help but want to see him.

When the school day was finally done, and my ankle was feeling better from the volleyball incident, AKA Bella, I changed quickly back into my jeans and dark blue sweater. We hurried from the girls' locker room, pleased to find that we had successfully evaded Bella's retriever friend for the moment. We walked swiftly out to the parking lot. It was crowded now with fleeing students. We got in the truck and Bella dug through her bag to make sure she had what we needed.

Last night we'd discovered that Charlie couldn't cook much besides fried eggs and bacon. And even then it was burnt.

So we requested that Bella be assigned kitchen detail for the duration of our stay. He was willing enough to hand over the keys to the banquet hall. We also found out that he had no food in the house. So Bella had the shopping list and the cash from the jar in the cupboard labeled FOOD MONEY, and we were on our way to the Thrift-way.

Bella gunned the deafening engine to life, ignoring the heads that turned in our direction, and backed carefully into a place in the line of cars that were waiting to exit the parking lot. As we waited, I saw the two Cullen's and the Hale twins getting into Edwards Volvo. I hadn't noticed their clothes before. Now that I looked, it was obvious that they were all dressed exceptionally well; simply, but in clothes that subtly hinted at designer origins. With their remarkable good looks, the style with which they carried themselves, they could have worn dishrags and pulled it off.

They looked at the noisy truck as Bella passed them, just like everyone else. Unlike Bella who tried to ignore them, I stared back at them. Then the weirdest thing happened, Alice Cullen met my gaze and winked. _Hmm since she's a psychic then wouldn't she know about me. _I thought as we left the school parking lot._ Meh, Gabriel's the one who put me here. Im sure he thought of this, And if he didn't then thats his problem to fix._

The Thrift way was not far from the school, just a few streets south, off the highway. It was nice to be inside the supermarket; it felt normal. Bell's and I did the shopping at home, and we fell into the pattern of the familiar task gladly. The store was big enough inside that we couldn't hear the tapping of the rain on the roof. When we got home I let Gabriel into the backyard and unloaded all the groceries, stuffing them in wherever I could find an open space, while Bella started diner. She wrapped potatoes in foil and stuck them in the oven to bake, covered a steak in marinade and balanced it on top of a carton of eggs in the fridge.

When she was finished with that, I let the dog in and headed upstairs. Before starting my homework, I changed into dry cloths, and checked my e-mail for the first time since we got here. I had three messages.

"Ara," Renee wrote…

"Write me as soon as you get in. Tell me how your flight was. Is it raining? I miss you already. I'm almost finished packing for Florida, but I can't find my pink blouse. Do you know where I put it? Phil says hi.

Mom."

I sighed and went to the next. It was sent eight hours after the first.

"Ara," she wrote…

"Why haven't you e-mailed me yet? What are you waiting for?

Mom."

The last was from this morning.

Arabella,

If I haven't heard from you by 5:30 p.m. today I'm calling Charlie.

I checked the clock. I still had an hour, but mom was well known for jumping the gun.

Mom,

Calm down. I'm writing right now. Don't do anything rash.

Ara.

I sent that, and began again.

Mom,

Everything is great. Of course it's raining. I was waiting for something to write about. School isn't bad, just a little dull. I met some kids who sit by Bella and I at lunch. Your blouse is at the dry cleaners - you were supposed to pick it up Friday.

Charlie bought Bella a truck, can you believe it? I love it. It's old, but really sturdy, which is good, you know, for Bella. I miss you, too. I'll write again soon, but I'm not going to check my e-mail every five minutes. Relax, breathe. I love you.

Ara.

Bella came into my room a moment later and flopped onto my bed with an exasperated sigh.

"Did mom give you the third degree too." I asked, amusement coloring my words.

"Yeah" came her muffled replay.

I was turning back to my laptop, when Suddenly she sat up. "Wanna read Weathering Heights with me." At my look she tried to persuade me. "Come on, It'll be good for us to review"

And that's what we were doing when Charlie came home. We'd lost track of the time, and hurried downstairs to take the potatoes out and put the steak in to broil. Well at least we would have had Gabriel not tripped Bella down the stairs.

And Bella, being Bella, took me down with her.

"Bella? Ara?" Our father called out when he heard us tumbling down the stairs.

"Hey, Dad, welcome home." We called back as we untangled ourselves. We've been through this so many times that we knew how to brace ourselves so we don't break anything. Of course that doesn't mean we don't end up bruised.

Dad was used to it as well so he just glanced at us. "Thanks." He hung up his gun belt and stepped out of his boots as we bustled about the kitchen. As far as I was aware, he'd never shot the gun on the job. But he kept it ready. When we came here as a children, he would always remove the bullets as soon as he walked in the door. I guess he considered us old enough now not to shoot ourselves or each other by accident, and not depressed enough to shoot ourselves on purpose.

"What's for dinner?" he asked warily, Mom was an imaginative cook, and her experiments weren't always edible. I was surprised, and sad, that he seemed to remember that far back.

"Steak and potatoes," I answered, and he looked relieved.

He seemed to feel awkward standing in the kitchen doing nothing; he lumbered into the living room to watch TV while we worked. We were all more comfortable that way. I made a salad and waited for the steaks to cook, while Bella set the table.

I called him in when dinner was ready, and he sniffed appreciatively as he walked into the room.

"Smells good, girls."

"Thanks."

We ate in silence for a few minutes. It wasn't uncomfortable. None of us was bothered by the quiet. In some ways, we were all well suited for living together.

"So, how did you like school? Have you made any friends?" he asked as he was taking seconds.

"Well, we have a few classes with a girl named Jessica. We sit with her friends at lunch. And there's this boy, Mike, who's very friendly. Everybody seems pretty nice." Bella answered since I was mostly concentrating on the food. School food will never beat a home cooked meal.

"That must be Mike Newton. Nice kid - nice family. His dad owns the sporting goods store just outside of town. He makes a good living off all the backpackers who come through here."

I slowed down when Bella asked hesitantly "Do you know the Cullen's"

"Dr. Cullen's family? Sure. Dr. Cullen's a great man."

"They... the kids... are a little different. They don't seem to fit in very well at school."

Charlie surprised us by looking angry.

"People in this town," he muttered. "Dr. Cullen is a brilliant surgeon who could probably work in any hospital in the world, make ten times the salary he gets here," he continued, getting louder. "We're lucky to have him - lucky that his wife wanted to live in a small town. He's an asset to the community, and all of those kids are well behaved and polite. I had my doubts, when they first moved in, with all those adopted teenagers. I thought we might have some problems with them. But they're all very mature - I haven't had one speck of trouble from any of them. That's more than I can say for the children of some folks who have lived in this town for generations. And they stick together the way a family should - camping trips every other weekend... Just because they're newcomers, people have to talk."

It was the longest speech I'd ever heard Charlie make. He must feel strongly about whatever people were saying.

"They seemed nice enough to me. I just noticed they kept to themselves." I tried to calm Dad down. "They're all very attractive," I added, trying to be more complimentary.

"You should see the doctor," Charlie said, laughing. "It's a good thing he's happily married. A lot of the nurses at the hospital have a hard time concentrating on their work with him around."

We lapsed back into silence as we finished eating. I cleared the table while Bella started on the dishes. Charlie went back to the TV, and after Bella finished washing the dishes by hand - no dishwasher - she followed me upstairs unwillingly to work on her math homework. I, hating homework, did it at school. I could feel a tradition in the making. That night was quiet. I fell asleep quickly, exhausted.

The rest of the week was uneventful. I got used to the routine of my classes. By Friday I was able to recognize, if not name, almost all the students at school. In Gym, the kids on my team learned not to pass Bella the ball and to step quickly in front of her if the other team tried to take advantage of her weakness. I happily spiked the Ball whenever anyone tried.

Edward Cullen didn't come back to school.

Every day, I watched until the rest of the Cullen's entered the cafeteria without him. I would then listen to the lunch chatter. Mostly it centered on a trip to the La Push Ocean Park in two weeks that Mike was putting together. We were invited, and I had agreed to go, Gabriel would appreciate a good rung. Bella agreed out of politeness, according to her Beaches should be hot and dry.

My first weekend in Forks passed without incident. Charlie, unused to spending time in the usually empty house, worked most of the weekend. Bella and I cleaned the house, got ahead on our homework, and wrote our mom more bogusly cheerful e-mail. We did drive to the library Saturday, but since there were no manga books, I didn't bother to get a card; We would have to make a date to visit Olympia or Seattle soon and find a good bookstore. I wondered idly what kind of gas mileage the truck got... and shuddered at the thought.

There wasn't much rain over the weekend. People greeted Bella and I in the parking lot Monday morning. I didn't know all their names, but I nodded back and smiled at the few that I knew. It was colder this morning, but happily not raining. In English, Mike took his accustomed seat by my sister's side. We had a pop quiz on Weathering Heights. It was straightforward, very easy.

All in all, I was feeling normal…

_DAMMIT THATS BORING! Can't something happen already!_

When we walked out of class, the air was full of swirling bits of white. I could hear people shouting excitedly to each other. The wind bit at my cheeks, my nose.

"Wow," Mike said. "It's snowing."

I looked at the little cotton fluffs that were building up along the sidewalk and swirling erratically past my face.

_Snow. _I smiled at the sky. I always loved snow, in my past life and in this one.

"Ew." Bella glared at the sky.

Mike looked surprised. "Don't you like snow?"

"No. That means it's too cold for rain." Obviously.

"Besides, I thought it was supposed to come down in flakes - you know, each one unique and all that. These just look like the ends of Q-tips."

"Haven't you ever seen snow fall before?" he asked incredulously.

"Sure I have." She said still glaring at the sky.

"On TV." I couldn't help but point out.

Mike laughed. And then a big, squishy ball of dripping snow smacked into the back of his head. The three turned to see where it came from. It was obviously Eric, who was walking away, his back toward us - in the wrong direction for his next class. Mike apparently had the same notion. He bent over and began scraping together a pile of the white mush.

"I'll see you at lunch, okay?" Bella called over her shoulder as she dragged me with her. "Once people start throwing wet stuff, I go inside."

He just nodded, his eyes on Eric's retreating figure.

Throughout the morning, everyone chattered excitedly about the snow; apparently it was the first snowfall of the new year. I couldn't keep the smile of my face.

I walked alertly to the cafeteria with Bella and Jessica after Spanish. Mush balls were flying everywhere, and as much as I love snow I don't like it melting in my socks. Next to me, Bella kept a binder in her hands, ready to use it as a shield if necessary. Jessica and I thought it was hilarious, but something in Bella's expression kept us from lobbing a snowball at her ourselves.

Mike caught up to us as we walked in the doors, laughing, with ice melting the spikes in his hair. He and Jessica were talking animatedly about the snow fight as we got in line to buy food. I glanced toward that table in the corner out of habit. I froze for a moment, and then continued down the line. There were five people at the table.

"Hello? Bella? What do you want?" Jessica asked.

I looked over at my sister, who was frowning at the Cullen's table.

"What's with Bella?" Good question Mike.

"Nothing," Bella answered. "I'll just get a soda today." She caught up to the end of the line.

"Aren't you hungry?" Jessica asked.

"No, I had a large Breakfast." Bella answered as she waited for us to get our food, and then followed us to a table.

"You did not have a large breakfast, so why are you upset." I asked Bella while we waited for Mike and Jessica to make up their mind as to where they wanted to sit.

Bella sighted "I just don't like how Cullen treated last week."

My eyes widened for a moment Before I engulfed her in a tight hug, making sure to balance my tray so it would not spill. "Aaawww Bella! You are just so adorable when you get your protective big sister look." I rubbed my cheek against her's while she struggled to get out of my hold. Her face red as a tomato.

"What are you doing?" Jessica asked as she and Mike stared at us along with several other people. As Bella's face turned an even darker shade of red I turned to those staring at us. "What? Haven't you ever seen some sisterly love"

With that I dragged the blushing Bella to a table. Mike and Jessica quickly joined us.

I eta my lunch as Bella slowly sipped her soda, twice Mike asked with unnecessary concern, until I told him to just drop it. I glance at the Cullen family's table.

None of them were looking this way. They were laughing. Edward, Jasper, and Emmett all had their hair entirely saturated with melting snow. Alice and Rosalie were leaning away as Emmett shook his dripping hair toward them. They were enjoying the snowy day, just like everyone else - only they looked more like a scene from a movie than the rest of us.

But, aside from the laughter and playfulness, there was something different, and I couldn't quite pinpoint what that difference was. I examined Edward the most carefully. His skin was less pale, I decided - flushed from the snow fight maybe - the circles under his eyes much less noticeable. But there was something more. I pondered, staring, trying to isolate the change.

"Ara, what are you staring at?" Jessica intruded, her eyes following my stare.

At that precise moment, his eyes flashed over to meet mine. He didn't look harsh or in pain as he had the last time I'd seen him. He looked merely curious again, unsatisfied in some way.

"Edward Cullen is staring at you," Jessica giggled.

"He doesn't look angry today." Bella frowned at Edward.

"Yeah I guess he doesn't." I turned back to finish my lunch.

"No," Jessica said, sounding confused by her comment. "Should he be?"

"I don't think he likes Ara," Bella was still frowning at the Cullen's.

"The Cullen's don't like anybody... well, they don't notice anybody enough to like them. But he's still staring at you."

Mike interrupted us then - he was planning an epic battle of the blizzard in the parking lot after school and wanted us to join. Jessica agreed enthusiastically. The way she looked at Mike left little doubt that she would be up for anything he suggested. I kept silent. I would have to hide in the gym with Bella until the parking lot cleared.

For the rest of the lunch hour I very carefully kept my eyes my tray. My stomach did frightened little flips at the thought of sitting next to Edward again. Although I know he wasn't thirsty today, I couldn't forget about the hostility he showed last week.

I didn't really want to walk to class with Mike as usual - he was a popular target for the snowball snipers - but when we went to the door, everyone besides Bella and I groaned in unison. It was raining, washing all traces of the snow away in clear, icy ribbons down the side of the walkway. I pulled my hood up, secretly pleased. _No wet sucks for me today_.

Mike kept up a string of complaints on the way to building four. Until I told him there would be plenty of opportunities later on.

Once inside the classroom, I saw with relief that my table was still empty. Mr. Banner was walking around the room, distributing one microscope and box of slides to each table. Class didn't start for a few minutes, and the room buzzed with conversation. I kept my eyes on my notebook trying to draw Adult Reborn from Katekyo Hitman. I glanced over when the chair next to me moved.

He was sitting as far away from me as the desk allowed, but his chair was angled toward me. His hair was dripping wet, disheveled - even so, he looked like he'd just finished shooting a commercial for hair gel. His dazzling face was friendly, open, a slight smile on his flawless lips. But his eyes were careful.

I turned back to my drawing, Allowing him to make the first move.

After a moment of silence. "Hello," said a quiet, musical voice.

I looked up, stunned at the sound of his voice. "My name is Edward Cullen," he continued. "I didn't have a chance to introduce myself last week. You must be Ara Swan."

This was a huge difference from last week when he wanted to kill me. He was perfectly polite now. I had to speak; he was waiting. But I couldn't think of anything conventional to say.

"Yeah, and thats Mike, and thats Angela, and thats Mr Banner" I settled for sarcasm.

He laughed a soft, enchanting laugh.

Mr. Banner started class at that moment. I tried to concentrate as he explained the lab we would be doing today. The slides in the box were out of order. Working as lab partners, we had to separate the slides of onion root tip cells into the phases of mitosis they represented and label them accordingly. We weren't supposed to use our books. In twenty minutes, he would be coming around to see who had it right.

"Get started," he commanded.

"Ladies first, partner?" Edward asked. I looked up to see him smiling a crooked smile.

"Alright"

I was showing off, just a little. I'd already done this lab, and I knew what I was looking for. It should be easy. I snapped the first slide into place under the microscope and adjusted it quickly to the 40X objective. I studied the slide briefly.

My assessment was confident. "Prophase"

"Do you mind if I look?" he asked as I began to remove the slide. His hand caught mine, to stop me, as he asked. His fingers were ice-cold, like he'd been holding them in a snowdrift before class. But that wasn't why I jerked my hand away so quickly. When he touched me, it stung my hand as if an electric current had passed through us.

"I'm sorry," he muttered, pulling his hand back immediately. However, he continued to reach for the microscope. I watched him, still staggered, as he examined the slide for an even shorter time than I had.

"Prophase," he agreed, writing it neatly in the first space on our worksheet. He swiftly switched out the first slide for the second, and then glanced at it cursorily. "Anaphase," he murmured, writing it down as he spoke.

I kept my voice sarcastic. "May I?"

He smirked and pushed the microscope to me.

I looked through the eyepiece eagerly, only to be disappointed. Dang it, he was right.

"Slide three?" I held out my hand without looking at him.

He handed it to me, being careful not to touch my skin again.

I took the most fleeting look I could manage.

"Interphase." I passed him the microscope before he could ask for it. He took a swift peek, and then wrote it down. I wrote the answer on my paper while he looked, not caring how my clumsy scrawl spoiled the page.

We were finished before anyone else was close. I could see Mike and his partner comparing two slides again and again, and another group had their book open under the table. While Bella could have finished just as fast, she was taking turns with her partner.

Which left me with nothing to do but try and finish my drawing. I could feel his stare on me the whole time.

I was half way done when I suddenly remembered the subtle difference in his face.

"I like how your eyes change" I blurted out unthinkingly.

He seemed puzzled by my unexpected question. "What?"

"Your eyes" _There is nothing wrong with pointing that out…is there?_ "They were Black last week and now their ocher, darker than butterscotch, but with the same golden tone. I like both colors" _Sure the guy had wanted to drain me of my blood, but that doesn't change the fact that his eyes had been pretty._

He frowned, and looked away.

I sighted and looked down. His hands were clenched into hard fists again.

Mr. Banner came to our table then, to see why we weren't working. He looked over our shoulders to glance at the completed lab, and then stared more intently to check the answers.

"So, Edward, didn't you think Arabella should get a chance with the microscope?" Mr. Banner asked.

"Actually sir, she identified three of the five."

Mr. Banner looked at me now; his expression was skeptical.

"Have you done this lab before?" he asked.

I smiled sheepishly. "Not with onion root."

"Whitefish blastula?"

"Yeah."

Mr. Banner nodded. "Were you in an advanced placement program in Phoenix?"

"Yes."

"Well," he said after a moment, "I guess its good you two are lab partners." He mumbled something else as he walked away. After he left, I started on my drawing again.

"It's too bad about the snow, isn't it?" Edward asked. I had the feeling that he was forcing himself to make small talk with me.

"Not really," I answered honestly.

"You don't like the cold." He stated not asked.

"I like cold, just not wet."

"Forks must be a difficult place for you to live," he mused.

"I love living in forks, its water getting in my socks that I hate" I muttered darkly.

He looked fascinated by what I said, for some reason I couldn't imagine.

"Why did you leave in the first place?"

No one had ever asked me that.

"It's... complicated."

"I think I can keep up," he pressed.

I paused for a long moment before answering."My sister, Bella, doesn't like forks very much."

"That doesn't sound so complex," he disagreed, But seemed to sympathize with me. "You weren't allowed here without your sister."

"Thats right." I was impressed he guessed that quickly. "Mom, did not want me on the airplane alone. If Bella did not go with me then I wasn't allowed come by myself."

"Oh but now Bella," He glanced back at my sister. "came with you."

"Thats right, I wanted to live with dad and finish high school here. Mom and Bella finally agreed because…I might have thrown a bit of a tantrum."

I blushed when I saw Edward biting his lower lip to keep from laughing. "It wasn't really a tantrum, thats just what mom called it."

"Then what did you actually do?" His eyes were still shining with laughter.

"I refused to eat. Mom thought I would give up by breakfast the next morning but I proved her wrong. She finally caved in after the third day. That night I eat a feast to make up for all the missed meals."

Edward chuckled "How effective." We stared at each other for a long moment, before he broke the silence. "Did your mom fall in love with anyone after your dad."

"Thats the complicated part." I answered smiling. "My mother got remarried, Last September."

"And you don't like him," Edward surmised.

"No, Phil is fine. Too young, maybe, but nice enough. Phil travels a lot. He plays ball for a living." I half-smiled.

"Have I heard of him?" he asked, smiling in response.

"Probably not. He doesn't play well. Strictly minor league. He moves around a lot."

I sighed. _Why was I explaining this to him?_ He continued to stare at me with obvious curiosity.

"She, mom, stayed with us at first, but she missed him. It made her unhappy... so I decided it was time to return to forks. So that's all," I insisted, wondering why he was still staring at me that way.

"Why does it matter to you?" I asked._ Even after being forced to read the books and watch the movies I never understood why he needed to know._

"That's a very good question," he muttered, so quietly that I wondered if he was talking to himself. However, after a few seconds of silence, I decided that was the only answer I was going to get.

I sighted and went back to my drawing which was almost done.

"Am I annoying you?" he asked. He sounded amused.

I glanced at him and told the truth again. "Yes, you kind of are." I frowned when he looked away apologizing. "Don't be sorry. If you have a question then never hesitate to ask."

He just smiled and nodded at me.

Mr. Banner called the class to order then, I listened with half an ear. Edward seemed engrossed in our conversation, but now I could see, from the corner of my eye, that he was leaning away from me again, his hands gripping the edge of the table with unmistakable tension.

When the bell finally rang, Edward rushed as swiftly and as gracefully from the room as he had last Monday.

Mike skipped quickly to my side and picked up my books for me, already carrying Bella's books. I imagined him with a wagging tail.

"That was awful," he groaned. "They all looked exactly the same. You're lucky you had Cullen for a partner."

"I didn't have any trouble with it," I said, stung by his assumption. "I've done the lab before, though," I added before he could get his feelings hurt. The kid's annoying, but good natured.

"Cullen seemed friendly enough today," he commented as we shrugged into our raincoats. He didn't seem pleased about it.

"I guess he wasn't feeling bad today." I sounded indifferent.

I couldn't concentrate on Mike's chatter as we walked to Gym, but RE. On the other hand, was fun. Mike was on Bella and my team today. _The coach had finally decided that it would be safer for every one to always put me on Bella's team._ He chivalrously covered her position as well as his own, so her woolgathering was only interrupted when it was her turn to serve; our team ducked warily out of the way every time she was up. While Mike did most of the defense I took over the offense. Needles to say we won thirty to zero.

The rain was just a mist as we walked to the parking lot. Bella got the heater running, for once not caring about the mind-numbing roar of the engine. I unzipped my jacket, put the hood down, and fluffed my damp hair out so the heater could dry it on the way home.


	5. Chapter 5

CH5

When I opened my eyes in the morning, something was different.

It was the light. It was still the gray-green light of a cloudy day in the forest, but it was clearer somehow. I realized there was no fog veiling my window.

I jumped up to look outside, and whooped in happiness.

A fine layer of snow covered the yard, dusted the top of the truck, and whitened the road. All the rain from yesterday had frozen solid - coating the needles on the trees in fantastic, gorgeous patterns, and making the driveway a deadly ice slick.

I quickly got dressed, making sure to put on snow boots, and ran down stairs. I passed Bella in the hall, who was glaring out the window. "Cheer up Bella, at least it's not wet."

Charlie had left for work before I got downstairs. I threw open the door to the backyard and jumped into the snow, Gabriel joining me seconds later.

_"__Hey kid, I though you didn't like water in your socks wont this get them wet?" _Gabriel asked through our mind link.

"I don't, but thats why I'm wearing snow boots." We played for a while longer until Bella called me in for breakfast.

We each had a bowl of cereal and some orange juice from the carton.

I was exited to get to school and talk to Edward. I was still frightened by the hostility I sometimes felt emanating from him, but I actually enjoyed yesterdays conversation, regardless of how tedious it was.

While I went with the easy and safe route, snow filled grass, Bella went through the icy driveway. From the safety of the truck I laughed as Bella almost lost her balance when she finally got to the truck, but she managed to cling to the side mirror and save herself.

Driving to school, the truck seemed to have no problem with the black ice that covered the roads. Bella drove very slowly, though, not wanting to carve a path of destruction through Main Street.

When I got out of the truck at school, I saw why Bella had so little trouble. Something silver caught my eye, and we walked to the back of the truck - carefully holding the side for support - to examine the tires. There were thin chains crisscrossed in diamond shapes around them. Charlie had gotten up who knows how early to put snow chains on the truck. While I was used to being taken care of, Bella wasn't and Charlie's unspoken concern caught her by surprise.

I was standing by the back corner of the truck, patting Bella's back as she struggled to fight back the sudden wave of emotion the snow chains had brought on, when I heard an odd sound. It was a high-pitched screech, and it was fast becoming painfully loud. I looked up, startled. I saw several things simultaneously. Nothing was moving in slow motion, the way it does in the movies. Instead, the adrenaline rush seemed to make my brain work much faster, and I was able to absorb in clear detail several things at once. Edward Cullen was standing four cars down from me, staring at me in horror. His face stood out from a sea of faces, all frozen in the same mask of shock. But of more immediate importance was the dark blue van that was skidding, tires locked and squealing against the brakes, spinning wildly across the ice of the parking lot. It was going to hit the back corner of Bella's truck, and we were standing between them. The last thing that went through my mind was, _I should have eaten something better than cereal_.

Just before I heard the shattering crunch of the van folding around the truck bed, something hit me, hard, but not from the direction I was expecting. My head cracked painfully against the icy blacktop, and I felt something solid and cold pinning me to the ground. I was lying on the pavement behind the tan car Bella'd parked next to. But I didn't have a chance to notice anything else, because the van was still coming. It had curled gratingly around the end of the truck and, still spinning and sliding, was about to collide with me again. A low oath made me aware that someone was with me, and the voice was impossible not to recognize. Two long, white hands shot out protectively in front of me, and the van shuddered to a stop a foot from my face, the large hands fitting providentially into a deep dent in the side of the van's body. Then his hands moved so fast they blurred. One was suddenly gripping under the body of the van, and something was dragging me, swinging my legs around like a rag doll's, till they hit the tire of the tan car. A groaning metallic thud hurt my ears, and the van settled, glass popping, onto the asphalt - exactly where, a second ago, my legs had been.

It was absolutely silent for one long second before the screaming began. In the abrupt bedlam, I could hear more than one person shouting my name. But more clearly than all the yelling, I could hear Edward Cullen's low, frantic voice in my ear.

"Ara? Are you all right?"

"Fine, but where's Bella!" My voice sounded frantic. I tried to sit up, and realized he was holding me against the side of his body in an iron grasp.

"Be careful," he warned as I struggled. "I think you hit your head pretty hard."

I became aware of a throbbing ache centered above my left ear.

"Ow," I said, surprised.

"That's what I thought." His voice, amazingly, sounded like he was suppressing laughter. "Bella's, fine Alice has her."

"Alice…" I trailed off, trying to clear my head, get my bearings. "But, how'd get here so fast?"

"I was standing right next to you, Ara," he said, his tone serious again.

I turned to sit up, and this time he let me, But he didn't release his hold around my waist. I looked up at his concerned, innocent expression.

And then they found us, a crowd of people with tears streaming down their faces, shouting at each other, shouting at us.

"Don't move," someone instructed.

"Get Tyler out of the van!" someone else shouted.

There was a flurry of activity around us. I tried to get up, but Edward's cold hand pushed my shoulder down.

"Just stay put for now."

"But it's hard," I complained. It surprised me when he chuckled under his breath. There was an edge to the sound.

"You were over there," his chuckle stopped short. "You were by your car and so was Alice."

His expression turned hard. "No, we weren't."

"Yes, you were." All around us was chaos. I could hear the gruffer voices of adults arriving on the scene. But I obstinately held on to our argument; too disoriented to focus on anything else.

"Ara, I was standing with you, and I pulled you out of the way." He unleashed the full, devastating power of his eyes on me, as if trying to communicate something crucial.

"No." I set my jaw.

The gold in his eyes blazed. "Please, Ara."

"Why?" I demanded.

"Trust me," he pleaded, his soft voice overwhelming.

I could hear the sirens now. "Will you explain everything to me later?"

"Fine," he snapped, abruptly exasperated.

"Fine," I repeated angrily.

It took six EMTs and two teachers - Mr. Varner and Coach Clapp - to shift the van far enough away from us to bring the stretchers in. Edward and Alice vehemently refused theirs, and Bella tried to do the same, but Alice told them she'd hit her head and probably had a concussion. I was more than happy to get on the stretcher and have a neck brace put on me as I had a feeling I did have a concussion. It looked like the entire school was there, watching soberly as they loaded us in the back of the ambulance's. Edward and Alice got to ride in the front.

Chief Swan arrived before they could got us safely away.

"Bella! Ara!" he yelled in panic when he recognized us on the stretcher's.

"I'm completely fine, Char - Dad," Bella sighed. "There's nothing wrong with me."

"I don't know Bells, I could use something for this headache._"_ I said from my stretcher.

Charlie turned to the closest EMT for a second opinion. I tuned him out to consider the jumble of inexplicable images churning chaotically in my head. When they'd lifted me away from the car, I had seen the deep dent in the tan car's bumper - a very distinct dent that fit the contours of Edward's shoulders... as if he had braced himself against the car with enough force to damage the metal frame…_I should tell him to fix that._

And then there was his family, looking on from the distance, with expressions that were a mix of disapproval, fury and concern. _Why are they concern, Edwards a big bad vampire, he's indestructible._

Naturally, the ambulance got a police escort to the county hospital. By the time they were unloading me I got over my dizziness and was starting to feel annoyed. Annoyed at how I had hounded Edward, _he just saved my life, he has no need to explain himself._

They put me in the emergency room, a long room with a line of beds separated by pastel-patterned curtains. A nurse put a pressure cuff on my arm and a thermometer under my tongue. No one bothered pulling the curtain around the bed's so when the nurse walked away I saw Bella - on the bed next to mine - quickly unfastened the neck brace throw it under the bed. I did the same, not liking the feel of it.

Bella looked over to me "How are you doing" her voice laced with concern.

I smiled at her "Im fine, just a little dizzy"

She frowned "You said you had a headache"

"Bella…" I spoke slowly and carefully "I was just run over of course I have a headache."

There was another flurry of hospital personnel, another stretcher brought to the bed next to me. I recognized Tyler Crowley from Government class beneath the bloodstained bandages wrapped tightly around his head. Tyler looked a hundred times worse than I felt. But he was staring anxiously at us.

"Ara, Bella, I'm so sorry!"

"We'r fine, Tyler - you look awful, are you all right?" As we spoke, nurses began unwinding his soiled bandages, exposing a myriad of shallow slices all over his forehead and left cheek.

He ignored me. "I thought I was going to kill you girls! I was going too fast, and I hit the ice wrong..." He winced as one nurse started dabbing at his face.

"Don't worry about it; you missed us." Bella reassured him.

"How did you get out of the way so fast? You were there, and then you were gone…"

"Umm... Edward and Alice pulled us out of the way."

He looked confused. "Who?"

"Edward and Alice Cullen - Edward was standing next to me, and Alice next to Bella"

Bella looked at me in confusion.

"Cullen's? I didn't see them... wow, it was all so fast, I guess. Are they okay?"

Bella caught on and answered. "I think so. They're here somewhere, but the EMTs didn't make them use a stretcher."

They wheeled me and bell's away then, to X-ray our head's. We told them there was nothing wrong, and I was right. Not even a concussion. They wanted to be thought because of my complaining. I asked if we could leave, but the nurse said we had to talk to a doctor first. So we were trapped in the ER, waiting, harassed by Tyler's constant apologies and promises to make it up to us. No matter how many times we tried to convince him we were fine, he continued to torment himself. Finally, I closed my eyes and ignored him. He kept up a remorseful mumbling.

"Is she sleeping?" a musical voice asked. My eyes flew open.

Edward was standing at the foot of my bed, smirking. I glared at him.

"Hey, Edward, I'm really sorry-" Tyler began.

Edward lifted a hand to stop him. "No blood, no foul," he said, flashing his brilliant teeth. He moved to sit on the edge of Tyler's bed, facing me. He smirked again.

"So, what's the verdict?" he asked me.

"There's nothing wrong with us at all, but they won't let us go," I complained.

"How come you aren't strapped to a gurney like the rest of us?" Bella blurted out.

"It's all about who you know," he answered. "But don't worry, I came to spring you girls out."

Then a doctor walked around the corner, and my mouth fell open. He was young, he was blond... and he was handsomer than any movie star I'd ever seen. He was pale, though, and tired-looking, with circles under his eyes. This had to be Edward's father, Carlisle.

"So, Miss Swan," Dr. Cullen started with me, "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," I said, for the last time, I hoped.

He walked to the light-board on the wall over my head, and turned it on.

"Your X-rays look good," he said. "Does your head hurt? Edward said you hit it pretty hard."

"It's fine," I repeated with a sigh, throwing a quick scowl toward Edward.

The doctor's cool fingers probed lightly along my skull. He noticed when I winced.

"Tender?" he asked.

"Not really." I'd had worse.

I heard a chuckle, and looked over to see Edward's patronizing smile. My eyes narrowed.

"Well, your father is in the waiting room - you can go home with him now. But come back if you feel dizzy or have trouble with your eyesight at all." With that he turned to Bella and did the same as he had with me.

"You seem just fine miss swan," Carlisle smiled at Bella. "Why don't you go home and rest as well."

"Can't we go back to school?" I asked, imagining Charlie trying to be attentive.

"Maybe you should take it easy today."

I glanced at Edward. "Does he get to go to school?"

"Someone has to spread the good news that we survived," Edward said smugly.

"Actually," Carlisle corrected, "most of the school seems to be in the waiting room."

"Oh no," Bella moaned, covering her face with her hands.

Carlisle raised his eyebrows. "Do you want to stay?"

"No, no!" Bella insisted, throwing her legs over the side of the bed and hopping down quickly. Too quickly — she staggered, and Carlisle caught her. He looked concerned.

"I'm fine," She assured him again. No need to tell him her balance problems had nothing to do with the accident. I got of the bed carefully not wanting to give him an excuse for detaining us further.

"Take some Tylenol for the pain," he suggested as he steadied Bella.

"It doesn't hurt that bad," She insisted. I nodded my head in agreement.

"It sounds like you were both extremely lucky," Carlisle said, smiling as he signed my chart with a flourish.

"Lucky Alice and Edward happened to be standing next to us," She amended with a hard glance at the subject of her statement.

"Oh, well, yes," Dr. Cullen agreed, suddenly occupied with the papers in front of him. Then he looked away, at Tyler, and walked to the next bed. _Gee Carlisle cant you be more obvious_.

"I'm afraid that you'll have to stay with us just a little bit longer," he said to Tyler, and began checking his cuts.

As soon as the doctor's back was turned, I moved to Edward's side.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" I whispered.

He took a step back from me, his jaw suddenly clenched.

"Your father is waiting for you," he said through his teeth.

I glanced at Dr. Cullen and Tyler.

"I'd like to speak with you alone, if you don't mind," I pressed. From the corner of my eye I saw Bella giving me an encouraging look.

He glared, and then turned his back and strode down the long room. I nearly had to run to keep up. As soon as we turned the corner into a short hallway, he spun around to face me.

"What do you want?" he asked, sounding annoyed. His eyes were cold.

His unfriendliness annoyed me greatly.

"Now don't you dare take that tone with me young man," Edward step back in shock at my scolding tone. "I ask you here to apologize and say thanks but then you decide to be rude. Well, you can forget it." I turn to walk away but he grabs hold of my arm, making me freeze. I slowly turned to him. _How dare he!_

"Wait, what are you talking about." He asked looking at me in confusion.

I glared up at him. "You saved my life so thank you. I demanded an explanation when it was not in my right to do so, so I apologize." My glare turned icy. "Now remove your arm from my person Mr. Cullen before I remove it from yours." I saw Gabriel through our connection, he did not like how Edward had grabbed me. He's teeth were bared in a snarl and his eyes had turned red.

Edward stared stared into my eyes for a second longer before slowly retracting his arm. "Sorry," Edward looked down in shame. "I should not have grabbed you like that." At his apology both Gabriel and I calmed. Gabe settled with growling for now.

"And its all right" Edward continued. "To ask about what happened. You know I was standing next to you and you had hit your head so its understandable that you would be confused." I was no longer angry at his actions but that really annoyed me.

"Edward we both know that you were nowhere near me and even if you don't tell me the truth," I crossed my arms. "Don't tell me lies."

He nodded in understanding, "I wont lie to you," He smiled, "but I can't tell you the truth either."

"Thats fine," I smiled back. "I never expected you to either way."

"So," he spoke after a moment of silence, "you're really not going to…you know…" he trailed off.

"Of course not," I smirked as relief filled his face. "Doesn't mean Im gonna stop Bella from trying." His expression changed from relief to horror in a matter of seconds. I laughed aloud as I walked away.

The waiting room was more unpleasant than I'd expected. It seemed like every face I knew in Forks was there, staring at me. Charlie rushed to my side, followed by Bella; I put up my hands.

"There's nothing wrong with me," I assured him sullenly.

"What did the doctor say?" Charlie asked looking me over.

"Dr. Cullen saw me, and he said I was fine and I could go home." I sighed. Mike and Jessica and Eric were all there, beginning to converge on us. "Let's go," I urged.

Charlie put one arm behind my back, not quite touching me, and led me to the glass doors of the exit. I waved at the kids, hoping to convey that they didn't need to worry anymore. It was a huge relief to get into the cruiser.

We drove in silence. I ignored Bella's inquisitive glances. _I can expect an interrogation when we get home._

When we got to the house, Charlie finally spoke. "Um... you'll need to call Renée." He hung his head, guilty.

Bella and I looked at him appalled. "You told Mom!"

"Sorry."

I slammed the cruiser's door a little harder than Bella on my way out.

Mom was in hysterics, of course. We had to tell her we felt fine at least thirty times before she would calm down. She begged us to come home - forgetting the fact that home was empty at the moment - but her pleas were easy to resist. Although I had to stop Bella from giving in a couple of times.

Bella finally cornered me in my room, so I wasn't able to confront Gabriel.

"Ok," She went straight to the point. "What did Cullen tell you."

I raised an eyebrow at her bluntness and naturally she blushed.

"He didn't tell me anything, just that he and Alice were right next to us."

"And…" she looked at me expectantly.

I rolled my eyes at her "I don't believe him."

"How did they get to us so fast and how was Edward able to lift the van of you." I started to feel sleepy as Bella said a few theories. "We need to research."

"Yeah sure, but I am getting another headache so I am going to sleep. Good night" I didn't hear her replay or hear her leave the room, I had already fallen asleep.

That was the first night I dreamed of Edward Cullen.


	6. Authors Note

Sorry all but i won't be able to finish this story i won't delete is so if anyone is interested in continuing it pm me and you will get it.


	7. Chapter 7

Joanna Karen Rain is the name of the who adopted the story


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